As England Women congregate in preparation for their final home match before the World Cup, it is with the realisation that it will be their first tournament without Kelly Smith for 20 years.
The Lionesses’ record scorer, with 46 goals in 117 appearances, called time on her international career in February – meaning England will have to cope in a major finals without the talismanic Smith for the first time since Euro 95.
And with Canada 2015 as the backdrop, it was the perfect time for FATV to sit down with the 36-year-old to discuss her England highlights.
Smith said: “To play for England is the ultimate for me. It always has been since the age of 16 when I got my first cap.
“[There are] so many things I will miss about playing for England. It’s unreal to play for your country, it really is. I’m going to miss it, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished – 117 caps, 46 goals. I hold great pride in that.
“I definitely will miss putting that England shirt on and representing my country.
“It was a massive part of my life. For over 20 years I was a part of the national team [but] the time was right for me to step away.”
That time came in November last year.
England had convened at the national football centre ahead of the historic match against Germany at Wembley Stadium, a match that attracted a record 45,619 spectators.
But in the opening training session, Smith, who has suffered with injury over the past three years, felt a twinge in her knee which would rule her out of the game – and Three Lions duty altogether.
She explained: “What did it for me emotionally was up at St. George’s Park, and on the first day at training I twisted a little bit awkwardly and felt a pain in my knee. I thought I’d done my ACL.
“My heart was as low as it could be. I just thought ‘I can’t do this anymore’.
“Luckily enough my ACL was intact, but just that disappointment of missing that big Wembley game really hurt, and at the age of 36 I felt I didn’t have it in me anymore. The battle to get back was too hard for me.”
Smith, who will continue in her role as Arsenal’s player-coach, went on to discuss her experiences of China 2007 – England’s first World Cup appearance since 1995 – and being named the third best player in the world, in 2009, as well as breaking Karen Walker’s England goalscoring record.
But she believes she is bowing out of the international arena with English women’s football on a high.
And, as her former team-mates prepare to entertain China at Manchester City’s new Academy Stadium on Thursday, Smith expects another boom should things go according to plan in the summer.
She said: “The future is bright for England because the game is in such a good place.
“The England team is doing really well. We’ve got a young coach in Mark Sampson. He has brought a lot of fresh ideas to the table, brought a lot of new, young faces in.
“The national team will sky rocket if they do well at [the World Cup], which I think that they will.”
Tickets for the China match are on sale now, priced £5 for adults and £2.50 for children.
A family ticket (two adults and two children) is £10 and group booking discounts apply.
Tickets are available via www.MCFC.co.uk/Tickets or in person at the Manchester City box office at Etihad Stadium.
